Tale of Terror
by DreaBean
Summary: Based on Snow White: A Tale of Terror. Chichiri smiled down at the girl. “I’m Chichiri, and this idiot here, is Tasuki. We’re not going to hurt you.” Miaka was strangely reassured. Miaka? When everything goes wrong, can everything go right again?


Tale of Terror

Note: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, and I don't own Snow White: A Tale of Terror. I only own this idea and Tomo's nice side.

It's not easy living on the outskirts of Hong-nan, especially when you have no parents and a little sister. My older brother Tetsuya, our little sister Miaka and I live in a small village just outside of the city of Hong-nan. We're not well off, and we're not poor, we just are, as are most of the villagers where we live.

Hong-nan is ruled by the Empress Yui, and whatever lover she has decided she will take. This month it's Suboshi, the twin to the best hunter in town - Amiboshi. Amiboshi and my sister are good friends, though sometimes it worries me, as my sister Miaka is the most sought after girl in our village and the next one over.

Tetsuya says I worry too much, but now that we're living on our own, and Miaka - much as I love her - is an idiot of all kinds...and the Empress...there's history there too. Heika Yui and Mi-chan were best friends growing up. The Emperor, Yui's father, died when she was young, forcing her to take the throne. Yui became cold hearted and left Miaka behind with her dolls and her dreams.

It wasn't too bad though. Yui seemed to forget our small village and Mi-chan, and that was just fine with me. That is, until a merchant from a land far away brought a mirror. And that was only the beginning of our troubles.

So I begin, once upon a time.

Yuuki Keisuke

-

"Heika, when you look into this mirror, the Mirror of the Gods, and ask a question, you will see nothing but the truth." The merchant bowed low when Yui accepted the gift and let himself be led out of the palace into the grounds. He walked away, disappearing behind an alley way, and waved a hand over his face. The painted features of Yui's attendant Tomo grinned. It had begun.

Yui played with the Mirror, her recent lover Suboshi by her side. "Mirror...mirror...on the wall..." she frowned. "In my hand? Hai. Mirror, mirror in my hand, whose the fairest in the land!"

A picture of her old friend Miaka appeared and grinned up at the empress. "I am!" she chirped brightly.

Yui's eyes narrowed, "this won't do. Suboshi! Get your brother. Tell him I have some very important business for him."

"Hai, Yui-sama." Suboshi shrugged to himself and rolled up the sleeve of his arm. He wrote quickly on it, 'come to the palace, Aniki' and moments later, there was a reply. 'Daijabou.' Suboshi nodded in satisfaction. "He will come, Yui-sama."

"Arigatou, Suboshi. Give me a kiss, and then you may go." After placing an obligatory kiss on his heika's lips, Suboshi left the room and waited for his twin to come up the stairs. The hunter trudged up the stairs, his leather trousers stained with animal blood but his white tunic freshly washed. Suboshi gave his brother a quick kiss and led him to Yui-sama's conference chamber. "Ahh..Amiboshi." Yui smiled. "It is a pleasure to see you again. It's been too long."

"Too long indeed, Heika. What is it that you wish of me."

Yui's smile turned cold and calculating. "I wish for you to kill someone for me. She is in my way and must be put to the death. I want you to cut out her heart and give it to me. I will boil it in a stew and eat it for supper."

Amiboshi hid his wince behind his bowed head. "Of course, Heika. Her name, so I may find her?"

"You live in her village. Yuuki Miaka."

Amiboshi's eyes widened, but he smiled. "Miaka? Of course, Heika. She takes an evening walk everyday before 6 bells. It should be easy to dispose of her. I will get you the heart you desire."

Yui smiled benignly down on her hunter. "I never doubted you. Go."

Amiboshi spared his brother a smile and quickly left the room. His heart heavy, and his mind in turmoil he headed for the woods, and waited for Miaka to walk by as she always did.

-

Amiboshi leapt out of the brush and Miaka shrieked. "AMIBOSHI!" she shouted, throwing a stick at him. "That wasn't nice!"

Amiboshi pulled out a dagger and advanced on her. "Miaka," he said softly. "Run."

Miaka backed away slowly. "Boshi-nii, what are you doing..." she tripped on a branch and fell backwards, landing hard. "Nani..." she whispered as he brought his sharp dagger up to her throat.

"ONEGAI!" he cried, and the dagger dropped from numb fingers. "I cannot. I can't kill you, Mi-chan..." he buried his face in her skirt, sobbing.

"Why...why would you even try?" gasped Miaka.

"The Heika. She asked me to. What was I to do?"

Miaka hauled Amiboshi up and hugged him tightly. "What did she ask of you, Boshi-nii?"

"She said to kill you and cut out your heart, to give your heart to her."

Miaka frowned in concentration. "Boshi-nii...go to my brothers, tell them what's happened, and tell them to kill one of our pigs for you. Take Yui-sama the pig's heart and tell her it's mine. I will run away. Go to another village and stay there until everything's all right again."

Amiboshi stood and pulled Miaka up with him. He hugged her close, she was almost like a little sister to him. "Mi-chan...should I tell your brothers anything?"

"Hai. Tell them I love them, and that I'll be all right." She hugged him again tightly. "Arigatou, Boshi-nii. I'll come back soon."

Amiboshi pressed his dagger into Miaka's hand. "Take this, Mi-chan, to protect yourself."

They went their separate ways, Miaka to the woods and Amiboshi to the town.

When Amiboshi knocked on the door of Keisuke and Tetsuya's home, the door flew open. "MI-CHAN! WHEN I GET MY HA...Amiboshi-san!" Keisuke invited him in. "How are you?"

"Not well, Keisuke-san. It's...it's Mi-chan." Tetsuya looked up and both brothers fixed their attention on Amiboshi. "The Heika, Yui, ordered me to murder your sister today. I couldn't do it, and I told her to run away...she says she loves you. She told me to kill one of your pigs and present the heart as hers to the Heika."

"Mi-chan..." whimpered Keisuke. "How could she..."

Amiboshi placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry Keisuke-san. Mi-chan can take care of herself."

Miaka was dirty, tired, and hurt by the time she found the stone building in the middle of a clearing. It was empty when she entered it, and she was so tired, she never saw the pallets that meant people lived there. She curled up in the corner and slept, her entire body throbbing with cold. Why, Yui-chan, why?

It was Tasuki who saw her first. He gestured to his companions, pointing out the small girl in the corner. It was Hotohori who decided to wake her, against the silent protestations of Tamahome and Tasuki. Mitsukake clicked his tongue when he saw her, offering no opinion. The youngest of the seven, Chiriko glared angrily at his hot-headed friends and Chichiri was the one to shake the mousy girl awake.

"GOMEN NASAI!" she shouted, curling into a smaller ball. "Don't hurt me."

Tasuki grinned, the young sorcerer jeered at the girl, "we won't hurt you. Much." Then: "ITAI!" He rubbed the back of his head when Chichiri smacked his wooden staff between Tasuki's ears.

Chichiri smiled down at the girl. "I'm Chichiri, and this idiot here, is Tasuki. We're not going to hurt you."

Miaka was strangely reassured.

-

Their names were Hotohori, Tamahome, Chichiri, Tasuki, Mitsukake, Chiriko and Nuriko. Hotohori was exiled by Yui for being more beautiful than she, and chopped off all his hair. I offered to make it look nicer with the dagger Amiboshi gave me.

Tamahome was beaten and nearly killed by Nakago, Yui's lover at the time. He had accused one of her prestigious court of the murder of his family. I secretly believed it was Suboshi, as Amiboshi his Twin had fairly told me as much.

Chichiri was a monk, or rather, he used to be a monk before he was kicked out of the monastery for being a Mage. Yui, I remembered, hated people who could use Ki as a source of protecting.

Tasuki was the most scarred of them all. A scar in the shape of a circle ran in a ring around his right eye, running over the lid and giving him a mean look. Tasuki reluctantly told me that he got it when his mother was burned at the stake for Illusionism, and that he had learned after she had died.

Mitsukake could use his Ki too - he did it to heal people. Once we had made our introductions, he healed me, even my clothes!

Chiriko was kicked out of Hong-nan because he was a boy-genius. Except for her lovers and former lovers, Yui hated men, and believed they were stupid. When Chiriko had applied for office at thirteen, she tortured his family until he agreed to leave Hong-nan.

Nuriko, he was the strangest of the seven. More female than male, Nuriko was stronger than most of the people I'd ever met. He started dressing like a girl when his baby sister, Korin had been run over by the Carriage of Yui. Until his real sex was found out, he masqueraded as his sister.

They were my family now.

Yuuki Miaka

-

Miaka lay sleeping on Mitsukake's pallet. She was exhausted, her body stressed beyond her limits. The seven men around stared down at her, some with glares, others with pity. They didn't know why she had run so far out of any near village, only that when asked, she started to cry.

Mitsukake sat by her bedside, gently stroking her hair, soothing her when her breathing hitched in a dry sob, and generally glaring at Tasuki. "Whatever happened to her..." he said softly to the boy next to him, Chiriko, "broke her."

"Heika Yui?" the thirteen year old said.

"Most likely."

Miaka rolled over in her sleep, whispering, "Boshi-nii...iie..."

Mitsukake brushed his fingers over her forehead and she quieted. "I feel drawn to her, somehow...I'm not sure why..." the young healer smiled slightly. "Chiriko, can you find Tama-neko outside? I'm sure our guest will enjoy his company."

"Hai, Mitsukake." The pinkish-brown haired boy jumped to his feet and ran outside, calling, "Tama-neko!" into the woods.

Chichiri, his blue hair limp from a long days work, took the boy genius' place. "My outto-kun thinks that you're being too nice to the 'intruder'," he said, chuckling.

"Tasuki?" Mitsukake snorted. "Trust him to have no bones of decency in his body."

Chichiri glanced down at the sleeping girl. "Do you feel that?" he asked softly. "I think she's the one to save us all."

Tasuki growled from his corner, "ahh, shu' up! Save us? Save us! Hah! No one can save us, 'cept ourselves. She's just a baka, and an intruder. Shoulda killed her!"

"You can kill me, if it makes you feel better," Miaka said softly from her position on the floor. "It will certainly make Heika Yui happy. I didn't mean to intrude...I was just so tired...so you can kill me, Tasuki-san...I won't mind."

That seemed to floor Tasuki and Tamahome, usually silent stood. "No one is killing anyone. Tasuki, if you can't accept that, you can go. Miaka-chan, you may stay as long as you need, are we in agreement?"

"Hai," chorused the bandits. Tasuki hedged for a moment, and Miaka turned her large watery eyes on him. He sighed, "ah, kuso, onna, d'ya havta cry? Yeh can stay..."

Miaka smiled gratefully at him. He found his lips twitching in response but before he could fully show her his fanged-grin, Chiriko burst into the stone cottage holding a dirty white cat. "I found him!" He deposited the purring cat on Miaka's lap. "Ane-chan! His name is Tama-neko!" She ruffled the cat's white fur and he curled up and fell asleep.

Mitsukake smiled. "He likes you."

Miaka smiled back at him. "He's adorable. He's yours?" Mitsukake nodded. "I just love cats."

Tasuki watched her out of the corner of his eye. Nuriko sat next to him. "You liiike her..." he sing-songed in his ear. "You want to hooold her...you want to wooo her...you wan–ITAI!" Tasuki punched his friend in the stomach, sending the man backwards off the bench.

Hotohori who was on the other side of Tasuki grinned. "You shouldn't have baited him, Nuriko no Baka." He paused. "Of course, Tasuki no Baka also."

"I'll hit you too, kuso hoshi."

Miaka started giggling, hiding her face in Tama-neko's fur. "You two argue like a married pair," she said between breaths.

Tasuki and Hotohori exchanged horrified looks while Nuriko laughed from his position on the floor. "Tasuki and Hori, sitting in A...OI!" he dodged Hotohori's swing at him and glared. "All right, I'll stop. Hmph. No one loves me."

"Maybe if you weren't such a hentai," Chichiri reprimanded. "There are ladies present."

"And I'm one of them!"

Everyone rolled their eyes, and Mitsukake took the moment of companionable silence to turn to the blue haired ex-monk. "Chichiri, I need some more herbs from the town, and I had hoped that you could retrieve them for me."

Chichiri nodded, rising and going to his corner. "Hai, of course." He bent and placed something on his face. "What kind of herbs, no da?" he asked brightly, a mask firmly over his features, his voice fake and bright.

"EH!" Miaka stared in shock. "Nani?"

Chichiri took off the mask to smile at her. "Don't worry, Mi-chan. It's so I can go into the town without Heika Yui seeing me."

"Oh! Oh! Chichiri! Would you go see my brothers! Tell them that I'm okay?" She leapt to her feet, disturbing Tama-neko who sulked over to Mitsukake. "Give them this," she said, handing him her two bracelets. "They can only come off if I give them freely, and they know that, so they'll know I'm okay. And...go see the Hunter, Amiboshi, and tell him that I'm all right and I don't blame him."

Chichiri nodded, curling his fingers around the bracelets. "I will." After getting his instructions from Mitsukake, he left, swirling a kesa, and placing his kasa on his head. He looked the part of the traveling monk.

"Good luck," Miaka whispered.

-

Chichiri strode into the small village in Hong-nan, his blue kesa swirling around him. He gathered the herbs Mitsukake needed and paid for them before asking about the hunter called Amiboshi. He found him huddled in his hut, looking miserable. "Amiboshi-san?" Chichiri called.

"Hai, may I help you with something?"

"Hai." Chichiri stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. "Miaka says she doesn't blame you. I am here to tell you that she is safe."

Amiboshi collapsed in relief. "Oh arigatou, arigatou!" He looked up at Chichiri. "Where is she?"

"Hiding. She is with me and my companions. We will protect her, should we need to. Onegai. Do not worry."

Amiboshi showed him to Keisuke and Tetsuya's home, and knocked on the door. The two brothers, sleep deprived and weak opened their door. "Miaka sent me," Chichiri said quietly. "These are hers." He took Keisuke's hand and dropped the two bracelets into it. "She's safe. My friends and I will protect her until it is safe for her to come home."

"Oh thank Suzaku..." Keisuke breathed. "Who are you stranger?"

"My name is Chichiri. Miaka-chan is staying with me, my brother Tasuki and our friends." He smiled. "She will be well taken care of."

Tetsuya pushed the choked up Keisuke out of the way. "Arigatou, Chichiri-san. Our Mi-chan is very important to us. We're glad she's in such good hands."

Chichiri made small talk, then left the house, heading for the woods. He bumped into a man selling mirrors and muttered his apologies before vanishing into his kasa. Tomo stared at the place the strange monk had been. He had just come from the house of Yuuki. The illusionist smiled grimly. Something wasn't right.

-

"Yui-sama...use your mirror again. I saw something strange in the towns, and I have reason to believe that Amiboshi-san has lied to you." Tomo whispered in his heika's ear.

Yui turned to the mirror hanging on the wall of her chambers. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, whose the fairest of them all!"

Miaka's form appeared inside the mirror. She grinned and waved at Yui. "I am!"

"SUBOSHI!" screeched Yui, startling Tomo. "GET IN HERE! NOW!" The blonde boy skidded into the room, halting just barely at her feet, bowing low. "GET YOUR BROTHER! NOW!" Suboshi quickly wrote something on his arm and the three waited in silence.

Amiboshi walked into the doorway of Yui's chambers, a frown fixed between his eyes. "Hai, Yui-sa..." she whipped out a dagger and threw it at him, burying in his chest. He choked, blood flying from his mouth.

"ANIKI!" Suboshi cried, catching his older twin when he fell. "Aniki!"

"Ototo.. Don't worry about me...I knew this would happen..." Amiboshi smiled. "If you ever get out...of here..." he coughed. "Tell Mi-chan that I'm sorry...I couldn't protect her..." Amiboshi sighed. "We were never meant for this, brother..."

Suboshi bowed his head, laying a gentle kiss on his twin's lips. "Good bye, Aniki. I love you."

"And I you, Boshi-kun." Amiboshi slipped away, a smile on his face, and his blood running dry.

Suboshi left him there and turned to Yui, anger radiating off him in waves. "Naze?" he whispered. "NAZE!"

"He went against my wishes," Yui said coldly. "Do you wish the same fate as your brother?"

"Iie," whispered Suboshi. "Iie."

Yui transferred her gaze to Tomo. "Take the body and leave us."

"Hai." Once Tomo had left the chamber, and disposed of the body of the hunter, he went to his rooms in the palace, letting the illusion of the opera clothing, feathers and makeup fall. He sighed, sitting at the table by his bed. "Gomen nasai Boshi-kun," he said to the spirit of someone who used to be his friend. "I did not think she would kill you."

Miaka, in the middle of pulling the leaves and twigs from the corners of the room and pushing them out the door, stumbled and nearly fell. Tasuki caught her, and her weight forced him to help her sit. "Miaka?" he asked, startled to see the tears running down her face.

"Boshi-nii..." she breathed, her hands over her mouth to cover her sobs. "Naze...why did she kill him?"

Tasuki just held her while she cried.

-

Chichiri appeared in his kasa just outside the door to their cottage. He entered the scene, eye taking in Miaka's hysterical sobbing and Tasuki, Tamahome and Nuriko's comforting her. "What happened?"

Hotohori said softly, so Miaka didn't have to. "Amiboshi-san is dead."

"Nani! Iie! I just spoke to him not an hour ago!" He knelt at Miaka's side, surprised when she threw her arms around him and sobbed into his kesa. "How did you know?" he asked her softly.

"I felt him go," she said, evenly despite her tears. "I think it was his way of saying good-bye." She sniffled once more, and wiped her eyes. "And Yui killed him," her tears faded away to steely anger. "Because of me."

"Iie," Chichiri said softly. "Because he had a free will."

Tasuki sat in his corner watching Chichiri successfully comfort Miaka. If he had his way, he'd never see her cry again. He didn't give two thoughts to his sudden loyalty to her, but Mitsukake watched him with a smile hidden behind his hand. "Amazing," the healer said to Chiriko. "Give him five minutes with a woman and he changes his tune."

The thirteen year old grinned up at the larger man. "She is awfully pretty."

Tamahome joined them, catching Chiriko's statement. "She is at that." He eyed her appreciatively.

Chichiri lifted the exhausted girl onto his pallet. "Come on. We need to go to one of the towns and see what work we can do for the evening. Miaka, you can stay here and sleep some more. We'll bring home something to eat. Although I'm afraid none of us are terribly good cooks."

Miaka sniffled. "That's all right. I can cook. Sort of." She winked at him, trying regain her good humor. "Just don't tell my brothers that, I've been faking bad cooking for years to get out of it."

Chichiri chuckled. "Don't worry too much about us. We should be back at sunset. Don't go out until we get back. You don't know what kind of things may be lurking out there."

Tasuki ruffled her hair. "Get some sleep, onna."

She irritably smoothed her hair back down after Tasuki stuck it up in all directions. "I will. Don't worry too much about me." She smiled and waved until the wooden door slid shut behind them. She fell back and closed her eyes. Sleep did not come easy to her.

-

Tomo bowed low in front of Yui-sama, in the guise of an old woman. "Yui-sama, do you have a mirror. A hand mirror?"

Yui frowned at him, but handed him a small circular mirror. Before her eyes it was transformed into a lovely green silk scarf. "Tomo!" she gasped. "Oh, it's beautiful!" She reached out for it, but the Master of Illusions whipped it out of her grasp.

"Do not touch it, heika! It is enchanted. She who wears it around her waist will die. It will tighten and tighten until the breath stops and the eyes slam shut. I will give this to you Yuuki Miaka, and she will die."

"Do you know where she is?" Yui asked, pleased with him.

"Hai. A monk will show me the way."

Yui clapped her hands delighted. "Tomo! You have pleased me well. For tonight you shall share my bed!"

Suboshi and Tomo choked. Clearing his throat, Tomo hastily declined. "Hai, Heika, but I'm afraid it will not be a pleasant time. Women hold no interest for me."

Yui frowned, but did not condemn. "Oh. You may have Nakago then."

The blonde man, not yet Yui's conquest stared at her in shock. His usually expressionless face held no emotion but his eyes had widened. Tomo's heart swelled, and meeting Nakago's eyes deflated just as quickly. "Hai, Heika," he said quickly, as not to anger her.

"Good. Nakago, you will go to Tomo's chamber tonight. If I find that you have not, then you will be punished."

"Hai, Yui-sama."

Yui sat back, as Tomo bowed and left the room, still in the guise of the old woman. Tomo opened a portal outside the chamber and stepped into it, walking two steps forward. He stepped into the woods, and looked around cautiously. He saw a stone cabin with its windows open, dust billowing out of them. A cheerful (but off tune) voice was singing loudly as whoever lived inside it worked. Tomo saw through the window, the girl who so haunted Yui-sama. He smiled.

Knocking on the door, he held out the green scarf to the surprised Miaka. "Onna-san, I offer you this in exchange for a glass of water. I have been walking for miles, and have not had a drop to drink."

Miaka ran and got Tomo water and as he drank, she busied herself with the scarf. She put around her waist and tied it lightly. "Arig..." Miaka's eyes widened and she began to tug and pull at the garment. Tomo grinned and vanished, just as Miaka fell to her knees.

"Chichiri...Tasuki..." she choked out. She couldn't breath. The green sash was digging painfully into her mid-section, cutting two inches into her skin. "Tama..hom..e...Nur...I...ko..." black dots appeared before her eyes. Miaka passed out, her breathing shallow, then...nothing.

Tasuki's head came up, and he looked back in the direction of their cottage. "Did you feel that?"

"Hai..." Chichiri said slowly. "Miaka?"

The cramping in Tasuki's gut grew worse and he turned fully towards the woods. "I'll go. You guys stay and get us food. I don't like this."

"Good luck," Chichiri whispered as Tasuki leapt over the fence and into the woods.

-

Tomo paced his room nervously, watching the sun set. "Tomo-san. Yui-sama wishes your presence in her court," a maid said, visibly trembling.

"Hai. I will be there in a moment." He waved a hand over his face and his made-up face and fancy clothing shimmered into existence. He strode down the hallway and opened the court room door, to hear:

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

Yui shimmered onto the mirror. "Why, me of course!"

Yui clapped her hands in joy. "TOMO!" she cried, leaping off her throne and catching him around the waist.

"Umph! Yui-sama, nani...?" he said, his hands in hovering in the air, shock written all over his features.

"You did it! Miaka-baka is dead!" She let him go and backed away. "Arigatou. Now. Go to your chambers, I will send Nakago there soon."

He bowed. "Hai, Yui-sama."

He sat on his bed, the illusion gone. Nakago didn't knock, just walked in. He stood silently, regarding Tomo on the bed, then began to strip. Tomo cringed. "You don't have to do that," he said, voice almost lost over Nakago's hurried movements.

"Yes I do," Nakago said harshly, dropping all formality.

"No," Tomo said, still soft. "Yui-sama told you to come to my chambers...but she didn't say we had to do anything." He refused to look up. "You can read or even sleep, I won't touch you."

Nakago didn't move for a moment, then put his clothing back on. He took Tomo's chin and lifted it so his blue eyes met Tomo's amber ones. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Tomo met his eyes unwaveringly, keeping the illusion of impassive reasoning in them. There were times, he mused as Nakago sat at his desk, face turned away, that he was glad he was an illusionist. Because it was times like that when he realized showing reality was harder to do.

Nakago turned and looked at Tomo. "Why did you tell Yui-sama that you held no interest in her if you did not plan on exploiting a man for her?"

Tomo chuckled dryly. "Because attempting to lay with her and not performing would result in my death."

Nakago ran the admission over in his brain. "I see." Nakago, the shogun of Yui-sama was no idiot. He saw the hope and happiness in Tomo's eyes before the illusion clouded his vision. "If the man she had given you was not me would I still be clothed?"

Tomo blushed and thanked Seriyuu that his illusion held. "Hai. I would never take another by force. Not..not after..." he shuddered to a stop and turned his face away. "I wouldn't do that to you. Not to you or to anyone."

Nakago turned away. "There is much more to you than what meets the eye, Tomo-san. It is a pity that you cover it with your illusions."

-

Tasuki threw himself into the doorway, and saw Miaka laying on the floor. "Mi-chan! Miaka!" he stumbled to his knees and rolled her over. Her face was white, her lips blue. But her heart was still beating, albeit so slowly Tasuki had to strain to feel it. "Come on Miaka..." he muttered. He leaned down and tried to give her his air, but she wouldn't accept it. Then, he saw the unfamiliar green sash. He whipped out the first dagger he saw, the wooden handled one that Miaka carried, and severed it.

Miaka breathed in suddenly, color flooding her face. Her eyes fluttered open. "Boshi-nii...?" she questioned softly. "BOSHI-NII!" Tasuki caught her before she hurt herself and she sobbed brokenly into his chest. "I saw Amiboshi...he told me, he told me you were coming."

"We felt you almost go..and I'm the fastest. So I came for you."

Miaka looked up at him, her eyes pinched with pain. "Boshi-nii says he approves of you."

Tasuki blushed and averted his eyes. "Ne? Heh.."

Miaka pulled away and rubbed her belly. "Itai..." she pouted. "Stupid old woman."

"Old woman? Onna, what are you talking about?"

Miaka blinked at him. "She was traveling and I gave her some water for the pretty sash."

Tasuki stood and took her by the shoulders. "Don't you ever show yourself to any old woman or old man again, Miaka no baka! What if that old woman was under the rule of Yui-sama!"

Miaka stared at him. "I guess I never thought of it that way. She seemed so nice."

"A lot of people seem nice, Mi-chan, when they're not."

Miaka raised an eyebrow at him. "You seem nice, Tasuki-kun. Are you not?"

Tasuki glared at her. "I'm NOT nice!"

"Of course you're not." Miaka brushed her skirt off, and wincing lightly, she walked towards the twig broom she had been making. "You can stay if you want, but I'm just going to be cleaning." She swept the leaves and dirt out of the doorway, taking the torn green sash with her.

-

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the fairest one of all?"

"I AM!" chirped the mousy girl in the mirror. Miaka.

"IIE! TOMO!" she screamed. The illusionist hurried into the room. He refused to meet Nakago's eyes, and bowed low to Yui.

"Hai?"

She strode down the steps of her throne to shove him over, the most her small stature could do to him. "She. Is. Still. Alive."

"Let me try again. Perhaps she was found by someone and saved."

"I PAID YOU FOR HER DEATH NOT YOUR MISTAKES! You will lie with me tonight, and I will MAKE you enjoy it!"

Tomo's eyes grew wide and just as he was about to agree, miserably, Nakago stepped forward. "Yui-sama?" he questioned, bowing low. "Might I make a suggestion?"

"If you must," Yui allowed, sitting back down.

"Let me take him tonight. Last night was for him, and I can make it hurt." Nakago's smile was cruel. "It will make up for what he took last night."

Tomo's eyes had grown wider until Nakago's last sentence. He hadn't taken anything last night. "Very well. Tomo, you will go to Nakago's chambers at sun down. AND YOU WILL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW!" Tomo fled.

Yui glanced at Nakago. "Arigatou. I did not wish to lie with him."

Nakago hid a smirk behind his hair when he bowed. "I know."

-

Miaka and Tasuki cleaned up the cottage by the time the other six men arrived. Chichiri hugged her, and Mitsukake, when he found out about the sash, gave her a salve that would heal the bruising. Chiriko handed her Tama-neko, and Tamahome ruffled her hair. Nuriko and Hotohori walked in carrying the food which Miaka immediately fell upon.

She hunted through the linen bags and -with Tasuki's help - started a fire. "Don't worry! I'll make us something to eat! It's the least I can do for making you worry."

Tamahome, closest to her, smacked her lightly on the head. "Miaka no baka. You don't need to cook for us whenever something goes wrong!"

"Hai!" Chichiri said from the opposite side of the room. "You were hurt today! You shouldn't be straining yourself."

Miaka shrugged. "What's a bruise or two?" she asked rhetorically. "I don't really hurt now anyway."

"If you're sure..." Mitsukake said. "Just don't strain yourself."

"I won't!" She busied herself with cooking the meat they had, putting it in the pot and deciding to make a stew. She, and her boys, sat down to dinner and ate in quiet, companionable silence.

-

Tomo knocked on Nakago's door. "Enter," the shogun said. When Tomo had gone in, shutting the door behind him, the blonde man said, "why did you knock? I didn't."

Tomo shrugged. "It's just my way."

Nakago turned to face Tomo fully. "Tomo-san." The illusionist turned his full attention on his shogun. "Take off your illusions." Tomo's face twisted in fear, but he did as Nakago asked. He stood in his white shift, and makeup-less face. "As I thought. Your face is as human as mine. I want you to tell me why you use your illusions to hide yourself."

Tomo's already pale face drained of all it's color. "I cannot, Nakago-sama. Onegai, don't ask me to..."

"I already have. Sit down before you fall down and speak."

Tomo sat on the bed, barely touching Nakago. He tilted his face down, letting his silver-black hair curtain down to protect him where his illusions couldn't. "I grew up in an opera troupe, under the name Chuin. I was a runaway, so they treated me..." his lips twisted into what could be called a smile. "Badly. It was bearable, because they needed me to sing...when I was young I had an amazing voice. So they only verbally ridiculed me. Until they found out women no longer interested me. The boys - my age and older, sometimes younger even - would t-take me...and r-rape me. Force themselves on me because I was small and they were always bigger." Tomo shuddered, his lithe frame shivering. "When it got particularly bad, it was when the newest boy from the troupe helped me. He thought it was inhumane. They pinned my old abuse on him, saying that two fags should flock together. They killed him in front of me. And I never even knew his name let alone slept with him." Nakago was silent as Tomo paused. "When I turned sixteen, the boys talked about raping me on stage, as though it was an act. I couldn't take it anymore, and people later described the blue light as holy avenging light. When I stood up, they immediately knew they had tortured a...Seriyuu sorcerer. That was the end. Not because of my power, but because I killed them all." Tomo wrapped his arms around himself. "All of them." His voice tapered off into silence.

Nakago turned to his fellow courtsman. "So that is what you hide behind your illusions and your pretty mirrors."

"Hai," Tomo said miserably. "You can hate me now if you wish, but it won't change anything."

Nakago was silent for so long, Tomo thought it was his cue to leave. Just as he was about to rise, the blonde man said quietly, "I found out I was a Seriyuu Sorcerer almost in the same fashion as you." Tomo shifted to look at him, frowning. "The Hin clan was outlawed and ridiculed. You know that. Some men from Kutou attacked our village and when I was seven, I watched my mother being raped. I don't remember much of what happened next, whether I blacked out, or just repressed most of the memories, the last thing I remember is blue light."

Tomo's hand hovered over his shogun's shoulder. He wanted to offer comfort, but feared that comfort was not needed. "Nakago-sama..."

"Why do you idolize me, Tomo?"

Tomo looked up startled, his hand falling away. "Because you are shogun. Because you are destined to become great..." Tomo's voice dropped to a whisper. "Because you are beautiful..."

Nakago glanced up. "You speak highly of me."

Tomo's smile was soft and whimsical, and the near illusion of his voice dropped away. The cold, calculating opera singer was gone, leaving behind the soft, broken, youth behind. Tomo became Chuin before Nakago's very eyes, and the blonde Hin knew that he was seeing the real Tomo. The Tomo behind the power, the boy that made the man. "When someone is in love, they seemed to do that a lot," he said quietly. "Especially unrequited love." Nakago blinked at him. "You don't have to say anything," the boy called Chuin said softly. "I understand. I've always understood. But I thought you should know, Nakago-sama."

"I'm sorry," the shogun said, almost humbled by the confession. "But I don't feel the same way for you."

The boy stood. "I know," the smile he bestowed upon Nakago was breathtaking in it's intensity. He leant down and laid his lips upon Nakago's cheek. "Thank you," he breathed into his ear, before straightening again. Chuin smiled once more at Nakago, and then brought his hand up to pass over his face. The transformation was instantaneous. Where Chuin stood, Tomo became.

"You're leaving?" Nakago asked, surprised.

Tomo's flat, illusion covered eyes glanced at the window to the East. "Ohayo," he said mockingly.

Nakago turned his startled gaze upon the ripening dawn. "Oh..Ohayo T..." But when he turned back to the man in his bedroom, Tomo was gone, the door slightly open his wake. Nakago lay back on his bed, only needing an hour of sleep anyway. "Oyaho," he repeated. "Chuin."

-

Miaka woke the next morning wrapped around Tasuki and Chiriko. She sat up, confused, hadn't the red haired man been across the...she glanced down at him. He was smiling in his sleep, looking childlike in his sleeping innocence. Chiriko lay on her other side, his arm around her waist, fingers wound in the fabric. His eyes looked pinched, as though he had been crying, and she brushed a gentle kiss across his forehead. "Kaasan..." he murmured, letting her go and rolling over.

She unwound her way out of the puppy pile of boys and shook out her blue skirt. Chichiri sat on his pallet, facing the sunrise, his eyes closed. He looked like he was meditating. "Chichiri?" she called.

"Hai?" he didn't move.

"Daijabou?" she asked, concerned.

"Hai."

"Honto?"

"Honto no honto ni," Chichiri turned to look her, sounding amused. "I'm meditating."

"On what?"

"Nothing, exactly." He stood and stretched. "It's something I learned as a Monk. It's good practice for concentrating." He walked over to join her at the fireplace, and sat next to her. "It's better rest than sleep."

Miaka leaned her head on his shoulder. "Chichiri? Why does Yui-sama hate me so much?"

"I don't know, Mi-chan. I suppose its envy, or jealousy." He squeezed her hand lightly. "I guess it's just a mystery."

Miaka pulled away from him to look him in the eye. "Envy?" she asked incredulously. "Jealousy?" She shook her head, a fierce frown upon her features. "What in Suzaku's name do I have that she doesn't? Yui-sama has power, men, and beauty."

"Perhaps she thinks that your beauty far out-matches hers."

Miaka snorted indelicately. "My beauty? Chichiri have you been drinking? I am not beautiful by any means of sight."

Chichiri frowned at her playfully. "I'm a Monk. I don't drink." He lightly brushed his fingers down the side of Miaka's face. "And I may be missing an eye, but I do know beauty when I see it." His fingers glided to a stop at her chin. "And you are very beautiful Mi-chan. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He stood sharply. "Now, help me wake the others. We need to go to a town today, our food is running low."

"Um...o-okay..." Miaka sat still for a moment watching Chichiri rouse his younger brother, Tasuki, roughly. She trailed her own fingers down her face wondering exactly what Chichiri had meant by his words. Shrugging off her confusion, she jumped to her feet and leapt on Tamahome. "Tamahome no baka! Time to get up!"

"Gerroff me, Mi-chan! Dun wanna..." Tamahome's eyes snapped open then fluttered closed.

"Tamahome no baka!" She poked him mercilessly in the sides until he woke up enough to fend her off.

"Mou, Miaka, is this how you wake up every guy you meet?"

Miaka grinned impishly at her friend. "Iie, but bothering you is much more fun." She turned away and scooped up Chiriko. "Oi," she said softly in his ear. "Outto-chan, time to wake up."

"Ane-chan.." he mumbled, trying to roll over and tumbling from her grasp. "Itai!"

Miaka giggled. "Silly outto-chan! Chichiri says it's time to wake up!"

After everyone had woken up Miaka went about fixing breakfast before her friends and protectors would leave for the towns to get money and food by doing meaningless jobs. Tasuki grabbed Miaka by the shoulders before he left. "Remember. No little old ladies! Right?"

"Right!" Miaka hugged him. "Arigatou for worrying, Tas-chan."

Tasuki blushed. "Ahhh, don't mention it. Really." He bumped her on the head with his fist lightly and walked out, shutting the door firmly behind him.

-

TBC in Part II


End file.
